Stephon Gilmore to make his season debut for the Panthers Sunday vs. Falcons.
Cornerback Stephon Gilmore will make his season debut for the Panthers Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons, two sources confirmed to the Observer.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler was the first to report the news.
The Panthers traded for Gilmore earlier this month, a few weeks after losing rookie Jaycee Horn to a broken foot.
Gilmore has been on the Physically Unable to Perform list since the start of the season after dealing with a quad injury.
Gilmore, 31, was the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2019 and an All-Pro cornerback after posting six interceptions and 20 pass deflections. His numbers dropped off in 2020 as he dealt with COVID and the quad injury.
Gilmore is returning from the quad injury and will likely play in a limited capacity. He has not played since Week 12 of the 2020 regular season.
He was eligible to come off the list last week, but was not quite ready.
“He hasn’t played football in a long time,” Panthers coach Matt Rhule said, when asked Friday the biggest hurdle he had to get through to get on the field. “You get out there, you’re working to get him back on the field. You can’t do too much to hurt it. What’s his condiditioning level like...It’s a very methodical process you have to take to get guys back on the field.”
This story was originally published October 30, 2021 at 10:57 AM.
